vivre

Vivre is a French verb meaning “to live” or “to exist,” with broader senses such as to experience life, to endure, or to subsist. It is used intransitively to describe living in a place or existing in general, and it appears in a variety of idioms and expressions about lifestyle, survival, and experience, for example vivre à Paris, vivre de ses revenus, or vivre pleinement.

Grammatical notes and forms: Vivre is irregular. In the present indicative it appears as je vis, tu vis, il vit, nous vivons, vous vivez, ils vivent. The past participle is vécu, used with auxiliary avoir for compound tenses (j’ai vécu). The imperfect is vivais; the future is vivrai; the conditional is vivrais. The subjunctive present is que je vive, que nous vivions; the imperative forms are vis, vivons, vivez. The infinitive is vivre; the present participle is vivant, and the gerund is en vivant.

Usage and nuances: Vivre can take prepositional complements to indicate location (vivre à Paris), source of livelihood (vivre de ses économies), or manner of living (vivre simplement). It can also express experience through objects or events: j’ai vécu une grande émotion, il a vécu un moment difficile. The verb contrasts with être vivant as an adjective meaning “alive,” while vécu refers to experienced or lived (as in le vécu). Common expressions include vivre et laisser vivre (live and let live) and l’art de vivre (lifestyle).

Etymology and related terms: Vivre derives from Latin vivere. Related forms include le nom la vie (life), l’adjectif vivant (living), et le participe passé vécu (experienced), which connects to the broader semantic field of existence and experience.